tutorials

i thought i'd share some tutorials i used to help with all the bike repairs.

this one was invaluable for getting all the rust off!

and this is the one i should have looked at before trying to get the original chain off...it would have saved me from breaking that one chain tool...

hope this helps someone else!

well...

i didn't meet my deadline. the first day of fall was on friday, and it flew past me.

i was waiting for one more part to arrive, and when it came on saturday, i thought that'd be close enough, and i could suck up my desire to have this bike ridable by the end of the summer, and just be one day over.

but, i can't fix the chain. i'm going to need professional help, cause i just keep hurting myself trying to get it together, and correct.

so, i thought i'd give a rundown of some thing i bought to fix this bike, their sources, and cost.

i figured i'd need a bike stand, so i wouldn't have to fight the thing the entire time i was trying to rebuild it.  unfortunately, it's sold out at amazon right now. also, it's pretty sturdy and holds the bike up just how i want it, but it came with hardly any instructions whatsoever.

through a lot of research, i found out that schwinn decided they didn't want to play by everyone else's rules, and sized their tires any way they damn well pleased. but, fun fact, a company called kenda still makes tires and tubes for these wheels! and lucky me, amazon carried both, for exceptional prices!

i found this saddle, and had to order it, because all the 'schwinn authorized independent bike shops' listed on their website don't seem to exist they way the website claims (i.e. they don't sell schwinn products at all)...  and unfortunately, it didn't come with a seat rail clamp (this was the part i was waiting for), so i had to hunt for one of those as well.

and as for tools, i had to get tire levers, a two chain tools (because i managed to bend one to hell, as well as 2 chains which i attempted to graft together...to no success at all), and a new crescent wrench, from voldemart and a local small hardware store.

so all in all, before going to one of my fabulous LBS to get a chain, it looks like i spent about $100 on this project! for which i'm pretty proud of myself!

hopefully i'll have pictures of the finished project to post soon. i'm sorry didn't post more progress shots. but it was pretty boring, to be honest. luckily, i could take everything apart with a handy crescent wrench and a flat-head screwdriver!

the exciting part

where i take everything apart, take pictures of how big it is compared to my handy crescent wrench (my new best friend), and do my best to remove all that rust (using lime juice and ultra-fine steel wool)!

so, there's really not much to photograph while i'm covered in sweat and rust and grease. but here's one anyway!i got the bike stand from of amazon. and while the instructions may have been ambiguous, it works great for what i need.

The Project

Recently, I rescued a bicycle.

This bicycle to be exact. And, after a few hours on google, it turns out that this little beauty is a 1960 Schwinn Racer. And I'm going to fix it.

The Goal:
To have this bicycle in riding condition by the end of the summer.

Now, to be clear, I have no experience whatsoever fixing bicycles. I'm rather handy with tools...but I've never tried something like this. So, I'll be searching google and my local bike shops for tips on what to do. That's where you come in, blog-land! I'm hoping some of you will have ideas too! For instance, what's the best way to clean the driveshaft?

There's a lot of work that needs to go into this little beauty, it needs new tires, a new chain, a new saddle and springs, a complete tune-up, an overhaul. Also, be prepared for sporadic updates. Sure, I'm done with class for now, but I'm also working, and it'll probably take me a while to drum up funds and the correct way of doing things.

I am so incredibly excited about this project!